Some Good News!

After I had finished mourning over the loss of my little sally's I was staring at the tank wondering what I wanted to put in it when suddenly I saw my little Sal hanging out between the log and pool! I couldn't believe it (and of course I then need to apologize to Keno for the cold shoulder he had been receiving the past few days). So, now we have decided to renovate the tank to make it harder for Sal to escape and harder for Keno to get a snack (plus, Jon just likes to make things "bigger and better"). We will keep you posted on our progress.

Sad story

So, I have a very sad tale to tell... For Christmas, Jon made me the coolest paludarium (part land/part water terrarium) for my little long-toed salamander pets that we caught in our yard several months ago. Sal and Sally were very excited about their new home; as was I-it was so neat with waterfalls and a fogger.

But that's a happy story you say...alas, Jon's cat Keno devoured my little sallys within the first two weeks (the lid was crack to let the humidity out)! I am still quite devastated as they were such cute and fun pets. They were a lot of fun to feed-as they would eat earthworms that would fling their bodies around as they slurped them up! I am now looking to find another couple of sallys or newts to inhabit my mini forest...so, keep watching for updates!

Christmas in a Nutshell

Well I have been slacking on the blogging lately (worried I will reach my max soon) so here is Christmas in a nutshell:

We cut down our tree at the same lame tree farm we went to last year that I swore I would never go to again...Jon had to move somebody ALL MORNING/AFTERNOON/LATE AFTERNOON (not that I'm complaining about my hubby doing service or anything) so we went a lot later then planned which axed the idea of going to a really cool farm with Santa, hayrides, etc. because it was too far...so, we settled for something in Snohomish. However, because I was pouting I didn't actually look anything up so we just drove around aimlessly until we found this place (which is basically what happened last year)...UGHH!! But, the tree we picked was beautiful and very tall (like 18 or so ft!).

Looking for the perfect tree.

Perfect tree found.

Cutting down the tree.


No trip would be complete without at least one melt-down!

We did gingerbread houses this year with the Higgins. Chandra and I baked all the walls (which means nothing matched up) and we got together at her house (thanks for that!!) with the kids to make/decorate their houses. The kids had so much fun but spent a lot of time hiding under the table "sneaking candy" (I swear I let them have sugar once in awhile!). A few days later Josh and Jon and I made ours. Josh really let the creative juices flow and made his very intricate while Jon and I settled for simple (I know we don't have to actually live in the house but that's just our style).

Christmas Eve we opened our new jammies then sang carols and acted out the Nativity with Josh. Clay was the angel and enjoyed sounding his "trumpet" and Kai was the baby Jesus, not quite so happy to be up past his bedtime. Josh slept over and we wrapped presents until way too late then crashed! We woke up and opened stockings, ate breakfast, showered, cleaned up (yes, we dragged out the whole present opening as is tradition in my family) then finally opened presents. Santa brought Clay a Mack with Lighting inside, Eph a dumptruck like his brothers, and Kai a "piggy bank". Jon made me a really really cool paludarium (part water part land terrarium) for my salamanders and I got him an air compressor (which he of course returned-Christmas wouldn't be Christmas without Jon returning his gifts). The Higgins came over that night for a "Mexican Fiesta" (we decided to bag the traditional turkey and stuffing dinner for a quicker and more delicious (at least for Jon) meal). After dinner we played a few rounds of TWISTER-so fun. We had a great Christmas (although we missed our family)!

Modeling their new jammies.

Acting out the nativity-utter chaos!

Stockings.

Presents.

MERRY CHRISTMAS!!

My Romeo

Together Forever

I just have to say that my husband is the greatest husband in the world! For our anniversary (7th-I know; crazy long huh?) he planned this extravagant date. When I got in the car he actually handed me a fancy printed itinerary of our evening including a couple of selections. First, we went to Chutney's for dinner (the other option was Cheesecake Factory but I was feeling the Indian food that night) then headed to the temple for some sealings to remind us of our special day(can you believe how romantic that is!?); we had such a wonderful time! As we were walking through the temple after the sealings he handed me a card he had made with his vows that he never wrote (or claims he never wrote) for our original wedding- SO SWEET! After the sealings we drove through Candy Cane Lane and looked at all the lights and decorations (let me tell you this was a definite sacrifice on my husband's part *grin*). Finally, we ended the night by going to see The Golden Compass (one I really wanted to see-instead of I Am Legend; which Jon would have preferred) which was great. I had such a fabulous evening- I'm in love!!!

P.S. Thanks to the Martins who watched our kids for this 8 hour adventure!

Tagged!

Little Sarah.

Teen Sarah.

Newly married Sarah.

College grad Sarah.

Old lady Sarah (the NOW).

Okay, so I've been sneaking under the radar with all this tagging stuff but someone finally found me (thanks Andrea!). So, 7 random weird things about me...



1. I grew up most of my teen years in Asia (not so random since everyone who knows me knows that but it's still weird).



2. When I turned 18 yrs old I rushed out and got myself a tattoo before anyone could talk me out of it...now I'm an almost 30 yr-old lds mother of 3 with a tattoo on my shoulder...go me.



3. I can't stand the sound, sight, or thought of someone rubbing paper towels, napkins or a wet sweater together...I have the goose bumps right now just thinking of it!



4. I was born about a month or so preemie and had to wear a brace on my hips until they developed fully-that's probably why I can still do the splits.



5. My biggest pet-peeve is whistling! When I was growing up my dad used to whistle and sing in the mornings all chipper and irritating-made me want to throw something (still does). I HATE MORNINGS!



6. I am ALWAYS ALWAYS late to everything (Chandra can attest to this)-drives me crazy! Its not like I spend a lot of time prettying up -I just can't leave my house in dissarray.



7. I love bugs, snakes, little critters. When I was in first grade I started this club where you couldn't kill anything; even the ants. So, we had to walk around staring at the ground making sure we didn't hurt anything. I would generally rather catch and release bugs back outside then kill them. I have two pet salamanders (Sal and Sally) who are very very cool!! Most people think I get into these things for my boys-I just let them keep thinking it :)



So I guess I will tag Kristen, Meghan, Carlie, Andrea S. and Stacie-I don't know anyone else who hasn't been tagged!

Let it snow!

So, last week was our first snow this season (since we were gone in Cali when the real first snow hit). I let the boys play in the snow a bit and they had a blast! Kai thought it was very fascinating stuff while his brothers ran around him eating as much snow as possible (seriously my kids' favorite part of the snow is eating it!). It was great, yea for a white Christmas.

We put a bowl out to catch snow so that the boys (and I) could munch on it.

Chris and Kristen's Wedding

So, first off I need to express my complaint before I mix my complaining with my brother's perfect wedding. So here it is, I LOOKED LIKE A COW! Too harsh you say...not so! The dress I ordered (which I admit I hadn't tried on since I bought it 1 1/2 months before the wedding) did not fit so it hung below my waist when it was supposed to sit above my hips-the effect was hideous! I looked so frumpy it was ridiculous. Also, for some unknown reason I wore black tights (I HAVE NEVER WORN TIGHTS SINCE I WAS LIKE 8!!!!) and it looked so dumb standing in beautiful sunny California weather in heavy ugly black tights-WHY OH WHY did no one tell me I looked like a freak!? Then, to top it all off the curlers I bought wouldn't get hot enough to actually curl my hair so it was sort of a wavy mess so I put it up...UGHH.

Okay, I'm done, now on to the wedding...

Their wedding was absolutely perfect! It was a sunny California day when we arrived at the beautiful San Diego temple on Saturday morning. The sealing was amazing-Jon and I cried through the whole thing. Chris and Kristen just beamed the whole day. The following reception at her home was very comfy and friendly and our boys loved eating cake and candy and running around their putting green in the back yard. Kristen was honestly the most beautiful bride I have ever seen (and I am even including models)! I am so glad my little brother found such a wonderful girl for his wife and my new sister (in-law but that's close enough). Congrats you two!

The married couple exit the temple.

My stud muffin hubby and snazzy little boys (and Josh).

The Lanshe kids.

Our eternal family.

I thought this pic was so funny with the Angel Moroni sticking out of Kai's head.

Our little guys.

The sealing reminded us of our temple covenants.

So exhausted with one more party to go.

Josh, you know you love wearing that suit.

My mom dances with her dad (grandpa) and Chris dances with grandma.

Ephraim LOVES treats.

...and dancing (with grandpa).